BUFFALO, N.Y. — The State University of New York is looking at Buffalo State as a possible location to house students returning from study abroad programs due to coronavirus outbreaks in those countries.
It just won't happen immediately.
Buffalo State president Katherine Conway-Turner issued a statement on Saturday that said, in part, "We learned from SUNY that we will not be hosting any students returning from Italy this weekend."
Her statement did not mention students studying abroad in other nations.
Laura Barnum, the SUNY vice president for finance and management, had said in a Thursday statement that the Buffalo State campus could provide the space needed to care for potentially impacted students.
"SUNY is looking at locations, including Buffalo State, where there is capacity to house students," she said. "We can confirm there is vacant dormitory space (Tower 2) on our campus. Coordination and planning is fluid. SUNY system administration has not yet confirmed final locations."
Conway-Turner said campuses in Stony Brook and Brockport were also under consideration for what she called "precautionary quarantine sites."
SUNY students will come back on a charter plane to Stewart Airport in Orange County, New York, and be quarantined for 14 days in dormitory settings. Those students were studying abroad in Italy, Japan and South Korea, according to Conway-Turner in the statement.
The University at Buffalo said Wednesday that nine students who are participating in its study abroad programs in areas that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued Level 2 or Level 3 travel notices for.
Eight University at Buffalo students are in the study abroad program in Italy, and one student is in a study abroad program in South Korea.